Chapter 166

Generally, whether meat is eaten rare or well-done is a matter of personal preference and not governed by any strict rules.

However, there are still certain types of meat that suit rare and others that suit well-done.

For cuts with minimal fat and a lean texture, such as tenderloin, rare or blue rare is more appropriate.

Conversely, as the fat content in the meat increases, the ideal cooking level also changes.

For cuts like ribeye, which have a moderate amount of fat, medium is suitable. For cuts with tougher fibers, like flank steak, medium to well-done is better.

And for cuts with high marbling, like ribeye cap, at least medium is required to bring out the flavor.

Why would anyone want to cook such meat in a Lizardman style…?

No, it’s not hard to understand why the innkeeper bought this meat.

In countries like South Korea in my past life, ribeye cap was highly prized, but in Western countries, it wasn’t as favored.

This world, which follows a similar Western cultural pattern, also undervalues ribeye cap.

The innkeeper, not knowing much about meat, probably thought it was a good deal to buy ribeye cap, which is relatively cheap compared to other cuts despite its quality.

Moreover, as a Lizardman with naturally dull taste buds, he wouldn’t notice how terrible ribeye cap tastes when cooked blue rare.

You can’t cook this cut blue rare.

At the very least, rare would allow some fat to render.

But blue rare is a completely different cooking method, despite sharing the word “rare.”

Rare involves minimal cooking to keep protein denaturation to a minimum, making it the least cooked among rare, medium, and well-done.

Blue rare, however, is entirely different.

Blue rare is named not because it’s slightly more cooked than rare, but because only the surface is slightly cooked.

The “blue” in blue rare refers to the raw meat inside.

It’s essentially a method where only the surface is seared, and the inside remains raw.

In other words, it’s like a tataki version of meat.

With this method, even the minimal rendering of fat is impossible.

Should I sacrifice the Lizardman style and cook it medium instead?

But what the two expect is a Lizardman-style dish…

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I felt a headache coming on.

No, now’s not the time to be pondering.

Time is ticking even as I hesitate.

First, let’s prepare the seasoning common to all cooking methods while I think.

As I sprinkled spices and salt on the meat, I continued to ponder.

If medium isn’t an option, maybe I should make cube steak.

By cutting the meat into cubes while avoiding the fatty parts, I could reduce the fat ratio…

But would that still count as Lizardman style?

If it’s Lizardman style, shouldn’t it be a whole piece of meat with only the surface cooked?

Can simply cooking it blue rare make it a Lizardman-style steak…?

No, even then, the only removable fat is the external fat.

The marbling within the meat remains unchanged…

What should I do?

I kept moving my hands while continuing to think.

Maybe sous-vide steak would work, as it cooks at low temperatures for a long time, minimizing the cooking while rendering the fat…

But then it wouldn’t be blue rare, and in this world, I can’t even get vacuum-sealed bags for sous-vide.

Is it greedy to want both the taste and the Lizardman-style concept?

If only I could apply heat to the fat while keeping the meat untouched…

But isn’t that a contradictory cooking method?

Even in a fantasy world, can cooking methods be fantastical too…?

As I pondered, I took out a fork to tenderize the meat by poking it.

Yes, like this fork, pinpointing specific areas of the meat…

…!

“That’s it! That’s the way!”

Finally, the perfect method came to mind.

A fantastical cooking method fitting for a fantasy world.

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First, I’ll make the salad while the meat marinates.

Lizardman’s clumsy traditional dish resembles a Western-style steak set meal.

Even though it’s blue rare, cooking the meat is like making steak, and pouring blood over it is like adding sauce, while the poorly prepared greens are like a salad.

Lizardman’s traditional food seems like a clumsy imitation of a noble’s dinner, heard or seen somewhere.

With nearly atrophied taste buds, the way it’s eaten doesn’t matter.

They’ve inherited a tradition that mimics a slightly civilized culinary culture.

In my younger days, I thought Lizardman’s traditional food was like cargo cult worship.

Some South Pacific islanders, seeing planes during World War II, believed them to be divine messengers and the chocolates and candies they occasionally dropped as divine blessings.

This belief, called cargo cult, persisted in some tribes until my time.

They even built wooden model planes, structurally different and non-functional, praying for the blessings to return.

Mimicking the surface without understanding the essence.

Lizardman’s culinary culture felt just like that cargo cult.

Though, thinking about it now, Lizardmen weren’t entirely isolated from other human species, so it’s not strange they were influenced by them.

While thinking this, the salad was quickly completed.

Of course, the finished salad wasn’t dirty.

I washed the leafy greens clean, cut them into fork-friendly sizes, and placed them on a plate.

Since it’s Lizardman style, I didn’t add dressing, but sprinkled some salt and pepper.

The pepper made it look a bit like dirt, which wasn’t bad.

Honestly, calling this a green salad feels a bit embarrassing.

But at least the salad is done.

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With the salad done, I checked the marinated beef.

This should be enough.

First, I cut off the external fat from the ribeye cap.

For this recipe, the fat could stay, but it’s better to remove the external fat, leaving only the marbling.

I’ll use the removed fat elsewhere.

I lit the fire and carefully placed a skewer I always carry, ensuring it didn’t touch anything dirty.

The skewer was more like a thick needle than a thin one.

I placed a pan on it, drizzled some oil, and put the ribeye cap on.

Since ribeye cap is fatty and will be cooked blue rare, there’s no need for butter.

Blue rare is essentially raw meat with a seared surface.

Using butter might overpower the meat’s natural flavor.

Since the goal is blue rare, the cooking process was quick.

The marinating took longer.

Next, the sauce.

Here, I used the fat I set aside earlier.

I placed the external fat with some meat on the pan.

I extracted the fat to make the sauce.

I can’t just pour blood over the steak.

As the fat and meat juices seeped out, I added chopped onions, red wine, and butter, sautéing them.

I added a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning.

Finally, I added flour to thicken the sauce, and it was done.

For a regular meal, this would be the end.

But today, it’s not over yet.

I wrapped my fingertips in aura and took out the skewer from the fire.

The skewer was scorching hot, but my aura-protected fingers were fine.

I immediately skewered the blue rare steak.

I aimed for the marbled fat, not the lean meat.

This is my method to enjoy ribeye cap blue rare.

Using a high-temperature skewer to melt only the fat within the meat.

Of course, misplacing the skewer or mistiming could turn it rare instead of blue rare…

But this is the only way to melt the fat while keeping the meat raw.

In this world, recreating dishes from my past life is hard, but this method is unique.

A fantastical cooking method only possible with the physical abilities of a transcendent being.

As the skewer cooled, I put it back in the fire and used another to melt the fat.

Repeating this, the steak was finally done.

Hoo.

I carefully released the aura gathered at my fingertips.

Not all the fat was perfectly melted, but it’s a blue rare steak that won’t feel unpleasant while eating.

What am I even doing…?

To maintain the clumsy, crude appearance of the steak, I used a cooking method I’ve never tried before.

Finally, I plated the salad, steak, and sauce.

It’s done.

Tonight’s menu.

Lizardman Style Steak Set Meal.